Sunday, January 31, 2010
Oh ‘Mere
Charlton Athletic 1 Tranmere Rovers 1I’m not sure where to start after this game – Charlton failed to win again, and could easily have lost. The players are obviously lacking confidence, and the crowd certainly didn’t help by exuding first malaise, then frustration, then unbelievably turning on the manager when he made substitutions. Such is the life of a Charlton fan; we all pay our money and we all have an opinion which it is our right to broadcast from the stands, but answer me this – is your support helping the players?
Sam Sodje (left) returned to the starting eleven in place of Miguel Llera as expected, and the problem left side position was filled by new loan signing Kyel Reid. Reid’s first touch was a pacy run down the left wing, but when he got to the byeline, he miserably failed to get anything like a cross in. Thankfully, that was a rare blip on Reid’s performance, and he went on to have quite a decent debut. Reid’s involvement did provide balance, and it was noticeable that either Tranmere didn’t think Lloyd Sam was any good, or the change of tactics worked, as they could not or did not double mark Sam during this game. This gave both wingers space to work, and both made good headway without any end product in the first half. Charlton had the bulk of possession, but many passages of play simply broke down when the ball got anywhere near the forward line, and even when the Addicks did retain the ball, it often ended up going all the way back to the goalkeeper in order to be moved forwards once more.
It may not have seemed so at the time, but one of the most important aspects of the first 45 minutes was when Rob Elliot injured himself in punching clear a cross into the penalty area. Although he survived for a few more minutes, it soon became obvious that he was unable to continue with his injured leg, and Darren Randolph came on as a substitute. This injury would later reduce the options from the bench available for manager Phil Parkinson, and severely hamper any hopes Charlton may have had of claiming all three points.The first half was pretty anonymous on the whole; Tranmere huffed and puffed, but didn’t really threaten – with Shuker being the player most likely to conjure anything – and Charlton posed and pansied about with the odd off-target shot to wonder about. The lack of confidence throughout the team was all so evident, with players wanting two or three touches when early passes would have been so much better. Nobody took charge of the game, and the lack of movement was once more very evident.
In the second half, we have seen Charlton concede goals in the opening minutes in the last three games (and in four out of the last five!), and this game was no different. A dead ball was played in from the left, flicked on at the near post and then hit Sodje solidly on the head before bouncing into the net with Randolph wrong-footed. It was unlucky on Sodje, but summed up Charlton’s recent plight. The annoying thing was that the Addicks had started the half much quicker, and had already threatened to open the scoring. Now it was a case of trying to maintain that momentum and get back on terms. Sodje burst forwards, beating several players but getting stuck as he got into the penalty area, then a corner was headed down and turned home by Nicky Bailey form close range to bring Charlton level again. It hadn’t taken long to equalise, and with Reid showing quite a few tricks, and Sam also getting the better of his marker on most occasions, we just needed to have some control over the finishing, and the game would be won. Sadly, the front two were having poor games again; Deon Burton seems a little dis-interested at present, and his partnership with Dave Mooney is floundering. Mooney is trying hard, and running his heart out, but his composure in front of goal now seems to be lacking. Without this cutting edge, the onus is left to others to shoot, but without much confidence, good opportunities are going begging. When that second goal did not come quickly, Parky made his two bench changes, and brought on two new widemen – Leon McKenzie and Scott Wagstaff – for Sam and the tiring Reid. This brought much derision and boo-ing from the crowd for some reason. We all have short memories – it was Wagstaff for Sam that brought the winner against Hartlepool just two games back, and with Reid not having played a full league game all season then it was no surprise to me to see him given a chance to be fit for Tuesday’s game too. Whoever started the “You don’t know what you are doing” chant in the North stand seriously has no knowledge about football, as both substitutions were understandable (and made sense to me), even if you did not agree with them. It may have looked like a better move to replace Burton and Mooney but when that switch was made last Monday, it also failed. Parky has to see the greater picture, and though Reid was still doing well, the last twenty minutes could have seen him pick up an injury, and then we would have a different perspective on his loan signings, calling them a waste of money.The whole mood change in the crowd simply acted as a lift for the away team and sucked any confidence there may have been from the red shirts. All of a sudden, the visitors were breaking forwards at pace and cutting deep into the Addicks defence. With Parky opting to leave more players forwards, the defence struggled under pressure, and a few last ditch tackles came in. Tranmere really should have sewn the game up in the last few minutes, with two very good chances wasted, then in injury time they hit the bar with Randolph well-beaten following a corner. It was do-or-die for Charlton and though they pushed nearly everyone forwards in the last few minutes, nobody could apply that final touch even though a Bailey shot did clip the outside of the post. The crowd drifted away, many leaving before Bakayoko was sent off for his second cumbersome challenge on Wagstaff deep into injury time and one last Charlton surge came to nothing.
It was a cold day, without much flowing football, and the result didn’t help, and it left me in an absolutely foul mood. Such is the expectation, frustration, and delusion of some of the home crowd that the forthcoming three away games may offer Charlton more return. They certainly need to get some confidence and get back to winning ways, otherwise the chasing pack will get ever closer and the season will develop into a chase for a play-off place rather than one for automatic promotion.
Blip or slump? It’s looking like a slump now….
Labels: Charlton, Tranmere Rovers
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Only Tranny You Actively Want to Meet on a Saturday!
What looked like a three-horse race for the promotion places out of League One has developed into something a lot tighter, with the chasing pack now giving as good as they have got and sneaking significantly closer to the top three over the first month of 2010. The bad weather, which meant postponed games for some clubs and not others, plus FA Cup commitments, coupled with the poor league form of Leeds (three defeats from four games) and the loss by Charlton on Monday, has all of a sudden concertinaed the division, especially if you take into account the games in hand some clubs have (presuming that they are all won, which will not happen…). So Addicks fans have, all of a sudden, started to look at not only Norwich and Leeds scores when they play, but also at the closing Colchester, Swindon, Huddersfield and Millwall results. That’s seven clubs aiming for two promotion and four play-off places, and it’s not impossible that Bristol Rovers and MK Dons could make late runs to bring themselves into contention too. No, this season is far from over!Mind you, with all the doom and gloom following Charlton’s home loss to Orient on Monday, you might think that the Addicks hopes had come down with the Xmas decorations such is the moroseness of some forum posts. Let’s get things into perspective – it was Charlton’s first home loss in over ten months, and only their third defeat all season! Sure, I was as frustrated as the next fan by the display which lacked anything bar the very evident spirit that the players have. But if Charlton can bounce back, then it will appear as a mere blip on the results log, and may not be as important over coming weeks as some fans currently fear.
The need to bounce back is paramount though, and what better time to do so than against a side humbled 4-0 when they last met the Addicks. Tranmere come to The Valley a very different team to that beaten comprehensively back in August, but they are still pretty average, even by league one standards. Les Parry may have brought them a few wins since taking over as manager, but they are still deep in relegation trouble, and will see anything gained against Charlton as an unexpected bonus. A midweek 2-1 win against Yeovil took them well clear of Wycombe and Stockport at the bottom, but they are still several points off a position of safety. The main threat to Charlton will come from attackers Thomas-More (a scorer in midweek), Gornell and Curran, while goalie Daniels and full back Logan are on loan at the club.
Tranmere scored both their midweek goals early in second half, and with Charlton having conceded early goals in three of their last four games it may be opportune for fans not to linger over their half-time beer or cuppa! Hopefully, the Addicks will be well in control by then, as they look to bounce back out of their current form (if not results) slump. Should Phil Parkinson make wholesale changes after that home defeat, or should he give the players another chance?
Well, the options are not that many, due to injuries and finances. In defence, the news from the horses mouth that Kelly Youga is still some weeks off fitness is a bit of a shock, but at least Sam Sodje has now served his four-game suspension and is available. Bouyed by the birth of his first child, I fully expect him to return to the defence in place of Miguel Llera. If there was any doubt about Sodje returning then Monday’s display by the Spaniard really put matters to rest; on too many occasions, volleys ended up going the wrong way (either forwards or backwards, depending) and one attacking volley by Big Mig ended up being one of the best clearances coming out of the Orient penalty box all evening! The continued obligation by Llera to send the ball long when he has it at the back is another thing that will change when Sodje returns, and Charlton simply play better football with the Nigerian in the side.
The other area that Parky still has to clear up is the left side of the midfield. As I foretold in my last preview, the team is unbalanced at present, and if Jonjo Shelvey, Scott Wagstaff, and Leon McKenzie are not (considered) up to the task, then it may well be time to switch Nicky Bailey back out wide, where he played for the first dozen games of the season. This would seamlessly allow a hopefully rejuvenated Therry Racon back onto the midfield after his rest, and even improve the creativity of the team which has been woefully lacking, Sam excepted.
The experiment of playing Shelvey at some times on the left and at others at the front of a diamond really hasn’t worked, and with important points to play for, it should now be discarded. Jonjo can still play a very important part in the last half of the season, but I just don’t think he should be asked to start out wide left any more.
The final part of the jigsaw that Parky will consider (or fans think that Parky should consider) is who plays alongside Deon Burton in attack. To my mind, the only choice should be Dave Mooney; I know he missed a few chances on Monday, and he also got caught offside on too many occasions, but then again so did Chris Dickson, and at least Mooney was working for the team. Mooney did score the opening goal against Hartlepool recently lest we forget, and he is the only player we have (in a very static team) who makes runs consistently. McKenzie may be worth a start at some point, I just don’t think it should be now.
This is the side I think Parky will send out in order to get us back to winning ways –
Rob Elliot
Frazer Richardson
Sam Sodje
Christian Dailly
Grant Basey
Jose Semedo
Therry Racon
Nicky Bailey
Lloyd Sam
Deon Burton
Dave Mooney
Subs from – Randolph, Solly, Llera, Omozusi, Spring, Shelvey, Wagstaff, McKenzie, Dickson.
I still think that Lloyd Sam had a game that he will want to forget on Monday; he may have been heavily involved, especially in the second half, but he often failed to get past his man, and when he did (and got a cross over) it was delayed and usually countered by sufficient O’s defenders being back in defence. What Sam needs to improve on, is getting the ball and attacking the defender at pace; when he does this, he looks a terrific player and the Addicks strikers would all prefer the ball played in early which he would be able to do. Sam knows that the creative element of the side is flowing through him at the moment, and that a more balanced team would take a lot of the pressure off him, but despite this, to be fair, he will want and need to improve on his recent performances and get back to scoring goals and creating too. I am therefore going to make him my one-to-watch for the second game running, in the hope that this time he puts all that effort into a positive end product.Pedro45 just cannot contemplate the Addicks playing as poorly as they have over recent weeks for too much longer, and hopefully the turn around in form will have been jump-started now the weather is (a mite) warmer; I predict a 3-0 victory (mind you, that’s what I said last week too…), and smiling faces in Floyd Road for a change.
The league table makes for uncomfortable reading now, but if we can get Charlton back into the winning habit, those sides below us will slowly fall back, or then we can get back to worrying about any teams that might still be above us. Blip, or slump? You know it was a one-off!
Come on you reds!
Labels: Charlton, Lloyd Sam, Tranmere Rovers
